Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round: 1993

This page contains a more detailed guide to significant events concerning Scarborough's Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round in 1993.

1993

  • 6 January: It is reported attendance at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round has increased by 60% over the past four years to 60,000 people a year.
  • 17 January: An internal theatre memo reveals the expectation the new theatre will be open - at the very latest - by Autumn 1994. In a private piece of correspondence, Alan Ayckbourn doubts there is the remotest possibility of this being achieved.
  • 7 April: The Spring / Summer season opens with Feed by Tom Elliot.
  • 21 April: Alan Ayckbourn revives one of his most famous creations, The Norman Conquests, directing the play for the first time since its world premiere at Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre in 1973.
  • May: The aimed for opening of the new theatre is now ideally proposed as summer 1995 to coincide with the theatre's 40th anniversary.
  • May: Alan Ayckbourn contributes £400,000 to the new theatre appeal; this will later be revealed to have secured the name of the venue as the Stephen Joseph Theatre.
  • 24 May: The official launch of the - now £4.35m - New Theatre Appeal sees a chance to sponsor everything from a square foot of the theatre for £25 to naming the theatre for £800,000 takes place at Scarborough Town Hall. The event opens with a 'word from the man in the street' - a poem by Alan Ayckbourn read by the actor Malcolm Hebden.
  • 24 May: It is officially announced that Shepherd Design & Build will carry out the design and build to convert the former Odeon building into the new theatre; controversially the theatre's architect Harry Osborne - whose designs are the basis for the entire theatre - is removed from the project as a result of this.
  • 2 June: The new theatre appeal has a second launch in London at the National Theatre with Artistic Director Richard Eyre as a speaker.
  • 23 June: It is reported £2m has been raised for the New Theatre Appeal.
  • 9 August: Shepherd Design & Build begin work on Phase 1 of the conversion of the Odeon building into the new theatre; expected completion of Stage 1 is intended to be June 1994.
  • 29 August: The first major fund-raising event for the New Theatre Appeal sees a village fête held in the grounds of Wykeham Abbey organised by Scarborough Theatre Trust and the Friends of the theatre and opened by television's EastEnders / Heartbeat actor Nick Berry. The event raises more than £5,000.
  • 8 September: The Autumn / Winter season opens with Physical Jerks by Stefano Reali.
  • November: The Friends of the Stephen Joseph Theatre hand over £10,000 in £1 coins to the theatre as the first stage of its commitment to raise £40,000 towards paying for the theatre's wine bar.
  • 7 November: A rare visiting production to the Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round during this period sees comedians Robert Newman and David Baddiel perform for two nights at the theatre.
  • 22 November: It is reported that ticket sales have increased by 12% on 1992 with 39,711 tickets sold in the previous 12 months.
  • December: The Pindar group donates £50,000 towards the New Theatre Appeal.
Article by and copyright of Simon Murgatroyd. Please do not reproduce this article without permission of the copyright holder.